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↳ 032, before sunset

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𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄 buzzing underneath her pillow and warm arms tugging her back against an even warmer body. She struggled against the arms well enough to wrench her phone free and look at the text message that lit up the screen.

7:00 am. Dance clean up at 8

7:05 am. pls come

It was from Rebekah and Colette let a small smile come to her face. It'd been only one night and the girl was finally back to her usual bitchiness and sweetness.

"What's making you smile like that?" purred the man beside her as his hand splayed flat across her stomach. She could feel him against the small of her back, hard and silky.

"Your sister," she responded and his grip on her tightened, flattening her back against him. She heard him growl softly in her ear, nipping her lobe. "Relax," she laughed, "she's only requesting some backup with the clean up committee. Remember? There was a dance last night?"

"Oh," he sighed happily, "I remember. Too bad you don't have a dress to remember it by anymore." He nipped her ear once more and she turned in his arms, feeling the entire length of him now pressing hotly against her stomach. Her shirt had been pulled off during the night and by whom, she didn't know.

"I think you just like tearing my clothes," she murmured, leaning closer to say it against his lips. "You have a strange habit of doing it."

"I haven't heard any complaints so far."

"Mhm," she breathed as he leaned closer to press his lips against hers. The bed creaked as he rolled on top of her, flattening her against the soft mattress that seemed to mold against her body as his own did. "I have to meet Bekah at eight," she told him as his mouth dragged along her jaw. When his tongue dipped from past his lips to lick the tender spot on her neck, she squirmed and said, "Klaus, I'm serious, it's already seven-thirty–"

"Far too early," he mumbled against her skin, his lips now tracing her collarbones.

"I'll be late."

His hand cupped her breast as the other squeezed her hip. He only looked up to meet her gaze once before saying, "And I don't really care," as his head dipped back down, his tongue swirling, his teeth biting.

Her back arched and she bit back a soft moan. She had things she needed to do and it never really occurred to her that he would end up being one of those things she wanted to do constantly. She could tell herself, over and over, in the past that she wanted to hate him, to kill him and rid his body from this earth entirely, but she knew she'd be lying. Even when they'd made the stakes, she never thought it would work.

She'd been giving in to a whimsical idea to keep her friends occupied and busy with hope.

But she never did see a world or a life without him in it.

A moan did leave her throat, guttural and groaning, when his fingers pressed into her. Her fingers wound themselves into his hair and she felt him smirk against her and she'd never felt something so glorious as that.

Yeah, she thought to herself, I'm going to be late. Really late.

She walked down the hallway, crossing her arms over her chest at the fact that she wasn't wearing any clothes that belonged to her. It wasn't like she had time to go back to the boarding house to scope through her closet for jeans and a shirt, not when she knew Damon would be lurking about. She didn't need to see him or even hear him moping about Alaric.

She'd assumed her history teacher was dead but there was a strange scent in the air at the high school that left her suspicious. No one had called her to tell her otherwise but she had an awful feeling she was going to walk into something that told her all her worst dreams were coming true. But she let that strange scent be ignored because she was more worried Rebekah would recognize her brother's shirt and sweatpants she was now sporting. She didn't even have proper shoes, just old sneakers she'd gotten from snooping around Bekah's room.

When she got to the student lounge, she heard voices but only two. Weren't there supposed to be others there to help clean up?

"I'm sorry about your mom," said Caroline. "I mean, I know you, like, hated her and everything, but still. I'm sorry."

Colette crossed her arms in the doorway and scowled. "I'm not. Your mom was a bitch."

Rebekah turned from where she was dumping the recycling bin into a larger trash can to wheel out to the dumpsters. Instantly, Colette got a whiff of what the other girl was feeling and it came off in cherry red waves. Apologetic, lust, and a sweetness Colette would've eaten up.

"You came."

Colette nodded, stepping into the student lounge to look around. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and there was a pile of the floating stars Caroline insisted on lying in a puddle on the ground. "You sounded like you needed help," she met Caroline's eyes and sighed, "and it seems like you really did. Where is everyone else?"

"Only us," said Caroline.

"Wonderful."

Rebekah cleared her throat and murmured, "I'm sorry about your teacher. He...he seemed like a nice guy."

Caroline's cheeks flushed pink and Colette smelled sorrow. "Yeah, he was."

"Listen, Bekah, why don't we take the gym?" said Colette, taking the bin from the girl's hands and placing it on the ground softly by their feet. "It's a lot bigger than this room, it'll take at least two of us to get it cleaned if we want to get out of here in the next hour."

"Why do you smell like my brother?" asked Rebekah as she leaned forward, sniffing. "Your clothes reek of his ridiculous cologne."

Colette pulled at the collar of her shirt, taking a whiff to pretend she didn't have a clue what the girl was talking about. Her nose scrunched up and she shrugged. "Stefan's got a bottle of the same stuff back at the house, wouldn't be surprised if he sprayed it all over just to piss us all off." She forced a smile. "His idea of a fun prank."

Rebekah only rolled her eyes before leading the way to the gym. Colette looked back at Caroline and the girl offered her a sympathetic smile before reaching out to stop her from following. She whispered softly, "Hey, you doing alright? Last night was...last night was hard."

No one searched for me. No one cared to see if I was alright.

Colette pulled her wrist from Caroline's grip but offered her a sincere look even though her insides flared. "Surprised you're not with Elena," she said before she could stop herself, "since she stole the show last night, anyway. Wouldn't want to worry about me when her life was so clearly in danger, right?"

Caroline's eyes widened and flashed with shock. The blonde took a small step back, her head rearing to the side as she said, "What? Colette–"

"She wasn't the only one who got hurt," said Colette in a snarl before stalking away.

She didn't know why she had to do that or what overcame her but maybe it was best to burn the bridges so she could leave without any burdens. She could leave this town without anything here to hold her back.

But she loved her friends, even when they did awful and annoying things. She still cared deeply for Elena and valued her life above a lot of others but she couldn't help her feelings. She was still hurt.

When she stepped back into the hallway, her feet stuttered against the tile. Her stomach lurched and she let out an awful breath that seemed to burn all the way up and out of her breath.

"You're supposed to be dead," she whispered.

Alaric's head tilted to the side like a wolf staring at prey. "She said the same."

He had his hands on Rebekah's shoulders, a stake pressed into her throat. It took Colette only a moment before rushing forward to slam the new original back and against the lockers as Rebekah took one of his arms, pinning it down. In another blonde flash, Caroline was beside them and took hold of the stake to thrust it through Alaric's chest before Colette could even stop them.

Her breath stilled inside her own chest and she took a stumbling step back. If he was alive then that meant, then that meant–

Shit, shit, oh, fuck, shit!

Alaric gripped the stake in both hands as the two girls stepped back and in line with Colette. He grunted and seethed but was able to pull his vampire blade free. It left his body with a wet sound and it took her a few seconds to realize both blondes had promptly run. Colette looked at Alaric and he looked at her.

I told you this would happen, whispered Naya's annoying little voice in her head. I told you not to go with Esther, I told you not to cross the barrier.

The white oak stake couldn't kill him but she knew it would kill her and Rebekah and Klaus and. He could kill Elena, he could kill her, but does he even know the truth behind their bond? Did he know that if he killed her or Elena, he would die too? Is this why she was here? To test his theory, to see just how far Esther's magic could go?

"This is gonna sting," he snarled, reaching forward with incredible speed to grip either side of her head. He was a vampire, he was a fucking vampire!

She stared into his eyes, nearly paralyzed with this newfound terror and mortality and didn't get the chance to fight before he snapped her neck.

She woke up on the floor, as if she'd just blinked and seconds had passed. She rolled over onto her back, squinting up at the sun shining through the blinds. Her neck was sore but that would pass quickly once she got her surroundings.

In a chair beside her was Caroline, her head lobbed over on the desk in front of her. Her mouth was tied back with what looked like a towel and her hands were stuck to the table thanks to the pencils sticking out of either hands. Colette could smell the vervain soaked into the towel and hoped the girl wouldn't feel that pain until she woke.

"Morning, sunshine," snapped Alaric from where he stood leaning against the doorway to his classroom.

Colette sat up slowly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Could've given me a pillow, maybe? I practically let you break my neck and I don't get anything in thanks?"

"Just be happy I didn't fully kill you," he snarled and she rolled her eyes.

"No way you would've even tried."

"Like to bet on it?"

"God," she sighed. "Vampire you is even more obnoxious than human Ric." She got to her knees because it was easiest for her to rest and understand what was happening. He was holding Caroline hostage but why not her? "Why aren't I tied up?"

"Because you and I need to talk," he said, stepping away from where he was leaning to enter the room. He looked different, darker almost. Colette could smell the rage wafting out of him with every little movement of his chest as it breathed in air. He should've been dead. "I don't like tying up the ones I want to talk to."

"How would you know?" she spat back. "It's not like you've done this before."

"Don't worry," he said, "you'll be incapacitated soon enough, I'm sure you're just dying to be the damsel."

"God," she breathed out again with a scowl, "you really are annoying."

There was a darkness in his eyes that never reached the rest of his features. He smiled but there was no happiness, just the evil residing deep within him. She slowly rose to her feet with the help of the desk but not because she really needed the aid. She just wanted to seem like it, she didn't want him to think she was a threat.

Her blood was settled within him and with a twist of her hand, she could have him on his knees if she pleased. But did she really know she could do that?

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, moving carefully to stand by Caroline. She brushed the girl's hair out of her face and was tempted to tear the pencils free of their hold on her but knew Alaric would only stop her. "I'm sure it isn't about grades or what I got on the last exam."

"I'm supposed to kill you," he said to me, arms crossed. "I'm supposed to kill what I hate–"

"You are what you hate or are you forgetting that?"

He scowled. "But I can't kill you, can I?"

"Unless you want to die too," she said back with her prettiest smile. "Killing me would mean your little crusade would end too soon and that would, like, suck, wouldn't it? Not finishing the job you were put on this earth for?"

"But you're invincible."

"Not from you or Elena."

His eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

I don't. I don't. But why risk it?

She shrugged, flicking one of the pencils stuck inside Caroline's hand and watching it vibrate before stilling. "You really want to test that theory?"

He had her by the throat and slammed down on his desk in the matter of seconds. She groaned at the contact of her body hitting the hard wood. He leaned over her, testing his strength by tightening his grip around her neck.

"This would be really kinky if you weren't my creepy teacher, you know that, right?" she seethed, trying to pull his hand off of her.

He pulled his stake from where he'd tucked it against his back, the white oak stake shimmering differently in this light. It was enhanced and yet, it still wouldn't kill him. At least she knew he couldn't be killed by normal means so her and Elena were safe for now. But even then, with the stake being held above his head, his arm flexing with the need to drive it home, she was still scared.

But she always did like tempting the beast.

"Do it," she snarled, his fingers pressing deeply into her skin. "Test our immortality, dick, see what happens."

Something almost recognizable flashed in his eyes when he spoke. "I am a teacher, Colette, I always loved giving tests."

He plunged the dagger into her chest and it felt like her body sagged at the impact. A soft gasp left her lips as the wood settled deeply within her chest cavity and she could feel her heart beating around the magic but there was no numbing pain. Even when Alaric let go of her to step back and watch, she found herself able to sit up.

Blood ran down from the puncture, her skin desperately trying to heal around the wood. Reaching up, she took hold of the stake and wrenched it free and blood splattered out against her pants. Alaric snatched up her neck again, forcing her head to the side as he inspected the wound, watching as it healed.

He was able to pry the stake from her hands as she sucked in deep breaths to combat the ache. Even though it didn't kill her, it still hurt. He released her neck so she could look down at the hole in her shirt. Klaus was so not going to like that.

An awful smile pulled at Alaric's lips as he stood back and watched with equal parts fascination and cruelty. "I could kill you, string you up and flay you, and you still wouldn't die."

"Only if you and Elena do, then I'm fucked," she wheezed with a slight cough. She could feel her muscles itching as they reconnected. Her molecules, her atoms, reforming and for a moment, she saw visions of water. Murky, dark, at night, green in the light of flashlights. There was a car, two bodies, maybe a third trying to come down, but that was all she saw before Alaric was striking her across the face. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"I didn't like the look you just had."

"But why'd you go and hit me?!"

"Because I hate you."

"Okay, yeah, I get that but damn!"

She didn't get the chance to rub her cheek before he was grabbing her by the collar and dragging her to the floor. She landed roughly on her side and he launched her forward and into the desks. They crashed behind her, jabbing into her back as she glared back at her teacher.

"It'd be best if you didn't fight this," he said, going to his desk and retrieving another towel. He dunked it in a jaw of vervain so potent Colette could smell it across the room as if she was standing right beside him. "I'd hate for you to see Caroline die."

"I could kill you," she hissed back, feeling her fires building up inside her chest. "You know that I could burn you from the inside out."

"Shut up," he growled, stalking forward and taking her face with one hand. His fingers stung her skin, no doubt from the vervain now dripping from the cloth he gripped tightly in his own steaming fist. He tied the towel roughly around her face, forcing it into her mouth. When he had it firmly in place, her skin boiling as she tried not to inhale too deeply from her mouth, her took her face in his hands and smiled. "Sweet dreams."

He broke her neck for the second time that day.

She woke up and realized they had more company. Colette's head lobbed to the side for a moment, regaining consciousness as she blinked away the black dots and realized her lungs were on fire. She coughed, jolting in her chair.

"Took you long enough," snapped Alaric as he tied a new vervain soaked rag around Caroline's head to her right. Next to the other girl was Elena who looked grateful Colette was now awake, even though her head spun and her hands were on fire.

"Why are you doing this?" breathed Elena, obvious tears in her eyes. She wasn't being held down like Colette and Caroline, she seemed to be in the room on her own free will but clearly the threat of Alaric kept her from leaving.

"To make it easier on you when you put her out of her misery," said Alaric, knocking Caroline's head forward as she sobbed.

The girl's skin was red and blistered where the rag was tied. Her forehead glistened with sweat and tears streamed down her face but not enough to wash away the burn and pain.

"What?" cried Elena, shaking her head as Alaric approached her with the stake. Its tip was still red, dulled from both Colette and Alaric's blood. "No!"

Colette looked down at her hands, taking note of the pencils shoved deeply between her joints and bones. She could wiggle her fingers and the pain was excruciating but she was stronger than Caroline. She could get free easily as she dug her fingers into the desk with a hiss. The pencils were doused with vervain, everything was.

"Isn't this what you wanted Elena?" said Alaric with a smirk. "For me to teach you how to kill a vampire?" He gestured towards Caroline with the stake. "Well, here's a vampire. Kill her."

Colette could smell the fear leaking from Elena's skin. The girl was shaking in her seat, trembling in Alaric's presence. How stranger just the night before she'd been crying for him and hugging him, telling him goodbye and that she loved him. Colette could even smell the blood from Elena's busted lip and a sudden surge of rage shuffled its way through Colette at the thought of Alaric hitting her.

How dare he?! How dare he even lay one finger on her?!

Elena shook her head. "This isn't what I want."

"Of course it is," said Alaric in a low voice. "You spent hours training, getting stronger...you could be a hunter, Elena, but you've never actually staked a vampire through the heart."

She glared down at the stake, shaking her head. "I won't kill her, you know I won't–"

"No," he growled, "you're just afraid. She's a killer, Elena! She's a demon! They all deserve to die!"

Colette wretched her hands up and let out a long hiss through clenched teeth as she freed herself. Alaric turned quickly, watching as Colette tore the gag from her mouth and tossed it to the floor. She raised a brow, feeling the skin on her hands slowly heal but leaving welted marks, she would need blood to heal fully from this type of torture.

"What?" she said through a hoarse voice. "Thought I wouldn't be able to get free?"

"Was hoping for something like that."

Relief soaked through the room from Elena as she turned her attention back to Alaric. "Why are you doing this to us?"

He whirled around, glaring. "Because you need me. Because you're an eighteen-year-old girl without parents or guidance or any sense of right and wrong any more." He was pacing, back and forth in front of their rows of desks.

"Look at you," Elena spat out, gesturing towards Caroline. "How is this right?"

He pointed the stake at the blonde. "She's a murderer. She told me she killed someone and liked it. Now how is that right?" Shame soaked Caroline's skin. "See, Elena...your parents led the council. It was their life's mission to keep this town safe. They weren't dead six months before you undid it all."

A tight glare fixed itself in Elena's eyes. "You don't know anything about them."

Colette rose slowly from her seat. Alaric's attention was on the girl and he spoke in the same low voice that left unsettling goosebumps crawling up Colette's back.

"Why, am I wrong? Do you actually think..." There was a cruel smile working its way to his face. "...that they'd be proud of you?" He crouched down to level with her. "If you don't side with the humans..." He looked at Caroline but Colette was already behind him. "...then you're just as bad as them."

"Yeah," sighed Colette, gripping a hand full of Alaric's hair in one fist, "but at least we're hotter."

She slammed her teacher's head back and against the corner of his desk, the sound echoing loudly in their room like bone cracking. He crumbled to the floor with a groan, already on his hands and knees. Colette reached out and got her hand around one of the pencils in Caroline's hand and yanked it free but before she could get another, hands were gripping the back of her shirt.

She felt the stake slam into the small of her back and her body arched in agony before it was ripped free. He held her up as she gasped out, "Will...you...stop...that?!"

He tossed her to the ground and she moaned when her knees hit the tile, pain jittering through her body as she healed, slowly. She glared back and up towards Alaric as he wrenched Elena out of the desk and tried forcing the stake into her hands.

"Kill her!" he shouted. "Because if you don't, I will and I'll make it painful, Elena. I will make it hurt!"

She stood above Caroline, holding the dagger up and towards her friend. She was breathing heavily, near tears, but Elena was not as afraid as she was before. The girl tried to spin back, slamming her arm behind her to try and stab Alaric but he caught her arm and twisted her to face him.

"I thought I taught you better than that," he said, pity lacing his tone.

Elena's hand wrapped around the jar of vervain as she stared up at her teacher defiantly. "You did," she whispered. She slammed the jar into his face and he cried out, skin blistering and smoking as Colette got to her feet and slammed her clasped hands against his back to force him down to his knees as he wailed.

Elena got the last pencil out of Caroline's hand and then untied her gag, helping the girl stand. "Get help," she instructed, helping the girl out of the room as Colette attached herself to Elena. She wasn't going to let the girl out of her sight when Alaric was vengeful and bleeding.

Alaric was on his feet and forcing Colette back into the classroom, tossing her back into the desks to corner Elena. It would've felt like a defeat but Caroline was still free and Colette could hear her feet hitting the tile as she weakly sprinted away.

But she could hear someone else and her blood warmed expectantly.

"Where is she?" whispered Klaus. "Where is Colette? Tell me?"

"With–with Elena," said Caroline in a weak voice. "He has them."

"I'll save them," he murmured to her and Colette felt her hands begin to warm, her nails like lava pressing into her skin. "Go, I'll get them."

Colette wasn't able to hear anymore from them as Alaric tossed Elena against the lockers. Colette pushed back up to her feet and tore across the room and into the hallway, launching herself onto Alaric's back like a wild animal. She tore her nails into her shoulders, seething through her teeth like a beast as she thrashed him back and away from the other girl.

He tripped over his own feet and sent them to the ground but Colette was stronger than him. He was just a baby vamp, after all. She was able to get herself off his back and use the momentum of the fall to swing her body around so he'd get the full impact of the floor.

"I should kill you both!" he roared. "I should gut you like Brian Walters, Bill Forbes and all the other cowards I plan on ripping apart!" He flung Colette off with his arm, his strength still so surprising to her. She skidded on the tile, glaring at him through a veil of her hair. "But you're the worst offender of them all, Elena! You don't deserve to live!"

"Then kill her!" cried Colette, staggering to her feet. "Kill her and see what happens!"

"There's obviously no humanity left in you," said Elena as Colette got closer to her, reaching out a hand for the girl to grip. "So what's stopping you, Alaric? If you want me dead," Elena gripped Colette's hand tightly, "then kill me!"

They watched as Alaric rose to his feet, veins throbbing red and black under his eyes.

"Do it!" cried Elena. "Kill me! Kill us both, you coward!"

Alaric staggered backwards, the veins vanishing under his skin as he heaved in deep breaths. Elena sagged forward with a sigh of relief and Colette held her up, both girl's watching the man stumble away.

"That's what I thought," whispered Colette with a shake of her head. "You can't do it."

"Shut up, bitch!" snarled Alaric, jabbing a finger in their direction. "Shut up or I'll kill you, I'll kill you a thousand times over–"

Hands grabbed Alaric, pulling his arms taut in flashes of leather and fitted jeans. Stefan and Damon clutched at Ric but they stood no chance. Alaric flung Damon backwards into the lockers as he threw Stefan in the air like a rag doll, snapping his back. When Damon reared forward to attack, Alaric simply grabbed him by the neck and snapped. They were no match to his strange new magical strength.

A familiar wave of forest swelled up in Colette's nose as Klaus raced forward. He took Alaric by one shoulder and pushed his fingers into the new vampire's chest. Colette felt magic build up in the air like electricity as Elena pulled free of her arms.

Alaric snapped Klaus's wrist and pulled him forward and away, sending the original tumbling and sliding down the tile. His back hit the wall and he groaned. Klaus got to his knees but Alaric was grabbing him by the back of the jacket and tossing him against the lockers. Colette ran forward but Ric slammed her back, her body now the next one of many to hit the sad beige lockers.

Klaus tried to fight back but Ric had him pinned to the floor, the stake above his head and trying to ram it forward. Klaus kept it back with both hands, struggling deeply, and Colette wondered how much power Esther stored inside Ric's pathetic body.

"Stop!" yelled Elena and Colette's head whipped to the side. "Let him go or I'll kill myself!"

Colette raced forward but Elena shook her head and Colette remained where she was against the lockers. Elena held a small scalpel from the biology lab to her neck, the metal glinting softly in the darkened room.

"Put it down, Elena," snarled Alaric, still trying to push the dagger down into Klaus's chest.

"Because you still need me alive?" scoffed Elena and Colette felt the girl's realization. She'd had it for a while now, since the night Esther had taken them both. "There's a reason Esther used me to make you, isn't there? She didn't–she didn't want you to be immortal." Elena's hand with the scalpel inched closer to her pulsating neck. "So she tied your life to a human one–mine. That way, you only have one lifespan to kill all vampires, and then you'll be gone. So when I die, you die, too. That's it! It has to be!"

Alaric scowled, his face scrunching up as anger poured from every inch of his shaking body. "You're wrong."

"Don't even try to deny it," snarled Colette. "You've known it just like I have. If Elena dies, you die, too!"

"Am I so wrong?" breathed Elena, taking a daring step forward. Elena slowly dragged the blade across her neck, not too deep but enough for the scent of blood to fill the air like brownies baking in an oven.

Alaric's hand faltered on the stake and he sat up, crying out, "Stop! Stop!"

It was enough of a falter for Klaus to throw Alaric off of him, grab Elena around the waist and take hold of Colette's hand. They were out of the school in the matter of seconds and in the mansion in the next sudden flash.

Elena was unconscious and Colette wasn't sure when Klaus had the time to do that when she staggered onto the couch in his living room. She just needed a moment to catch her breath, to rub the worry out from underneath her skin as she sunk down into one of the cushions.

She watched someone carry Elena away as she rubbed her cheeks and swept her hair back out of her face. All she needed was a drink, a small one maybe mixed with the stronger alcohol in the house. She heard Klaus speak roughly, to a nurse perhaps? Tyler? She didn't know.

"We need her blood," he instructed, "but not enough to kill her, do you understand me?"

"How many pints?" It was a woman's voice.

"Three and if we can, four."

That could still kill her, Colette wanted to say. She rubbed her head and murmured just loud enough for him to hear, "I know we only agreed on three."

She heard Klaus sigh but he relayed the information over anyway. "Just...keep it to three."

It was the only way to give him what he wanted without permanently hurting Elena. She'd probably even need vampire blood after to help her with any of the side effects. Dizziness. Loss of conciousness. Sweating. Nausea.

Klaus crouched down in front of her, peeling her hands back from her face with slow care. He offered her a small glass and she exhaled slowly as she took it. The blood was still warm and she drank it all in one gulp, relishing in the feeling of it sliding down her throat and settling happily in her gut. She felt better almost instantly. The redness on her hands was gone and the strange achy feeling in her back and chest was gone too. Vervain just loved to ruin her temple of a body.

"You alright?" he murmured, taking the glass from her and setting it aside on the coffee table behind him.

She nodded, giving him a smile or reassurance and she didn't know if she was really doing it for him or just for herself. "Everything I was worried about is coming true," she whispered to him. "Alaric's still alive and that means I'm screwed. Elena and I? We're fucked."

"We can run," he murmured to her, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "He won't be able to chase after us forever."

"He wants you dead," she said with a shake of her head. "He wants you and Elijah and Rebekah all dead, even Kol." She hadn't seen or heard from the weaselly original since he'd shown up to bash Damon's kneecaps in. "He won't stop until you're dead."

"It'd be so much easier if you hadn't linked yourself, you know."

"You think I don't know that?" she spat with a scowl. If she had just left it all alone, none of this would be an issue. Klaus could kill Elena, against Colette's wishes of course, and then it'd be done. Evil Alaric would be dead and they'd be safe. "I couldn't just stand there and let Elena get screwed over for the hundredth time, and I wasn't going to let myself be Alaric's first target."

There's still so much life to live.

"And I knew if Elena had me tied to her..." Colette shook her head with a sigh. "She'd have more a fighting chance and I was right."

"And I wish you didn't need to be." He cupped her face in one hand and she leaned into the touch. "I wish you didn't have to be right."

"We can't run from him," she told him. "But there has to be a way to stop him, right? Like...there has to be a way to take him out, break the link, I–I don't know."

"We can only hope your little witch can come up with that sort of plan."

Colette dropped her head back into her hands and groaned. There was no escaping the ruin that would follow now that Alaric was alive. Maybe Naya had been right, she shouldn't have gone with Esther, she should never have allowed herself to save Elena.

"Once you have Elena's blood," she whispered, slowly looking up to meet his gaze, "what will you do? Are you going to make more hybrids?"

He shrugged, standing from his crouch to sit down in one of the nice leather chairs. His legs stretched out before him and his elbows were against the arm rest, he looked like a king. "I already have my family back, I don't know if I'll need to make a new one quite yet."

"What about you ideal army?"

He shrugged again. "If there comes a time where I'll need one, maybe, but there are other things on my mind currently."

"So, you're just taking her blood as a precaution?"

He nodded. "Better to come prepared and besides, love, if I were to make a hybrids on some whim, I'd need her blood on hand. It'd be rather unfortunate to have to run back here to steal her away all over again when I can just take what I want and–" He waved his hand lazily. "–disappear for a while."

She nodded back, elbows resting against her knees. "Can I tell you what I think you're really doing?" His brows lowered and he gave her a blank stare but welcomed her to continue. "I think you just want a backup plan. Things between you and siblings...they're always going to be rocky one way or another and you're taking Elena's blood in case they decide they don't want to trust you anymore." His eyes darkened but she continued. "You need your hybrids because they'll always love you, they'll always be there so you won't ever be alone."

She stood slowly, crossing the threshold between them to stand between his legs. He looked up at her and she noticed how hard he was gripping the arm rests, like his claws were wishing to come free. Even his eyes were flecked with gold, daring her, tempting her to watch as the golden ring would eventually appear is she kept going.

But she did so anyway.

"You're afraid of losing your family," she murmured to him, his mouth bunched as if to hide his anger. She leaned down, running her hands over his and slowly up his arms. She dropped a knee on one side of his hip and the other fell shortly after but she didn't let herself sit, whispering to him, "You're afraid of being alone."

"Colette..." There was a warning in his tone and she smiled softly. She settled slowly into his lap, sitting against his warmth and he looked up at her through a glare that didn't want to be there.

"But you're not alone," she said softly, leaning closer as her hands slid over his shoulders, against his neck, her fingers tugging gently on the ends of his hair. "You'll have me for however long you want me."

His hands left the arm rests and she felt them against her thighs, his fingers digging into the soft fabric of the sweatpants he'd given her. He ran his hands slowly up her thighs, curling around to grasp her ass, pulling her even closer against him.

Her heart felt like it was in her throat and she let out a small breath of a laugh, watching Klaus's brows furrow at the noise.

"What?" he whispered, his hands now against her hips, slipping underneath the shirt she'd ruin. "What is it?"

"I–" She smiled, her insides fluttering. She felt light for the first time in a long time and another laugh left her lips as she murmured, "I love you."

A hand went up to her face, abandoning its slow race to pull her shirt off. He rubbed his thumb slowly under her eye, his fingers curling into her hair. "Do you," he swallowed, "do you mean it?"

Worry pooled inside of him and she could smell it so clearly it stung her nose. Concern, fear, completely horror at the idea of her not meaning those three little words. But how could she not? She'd been only one half of his soul for so long she couldn't remember a time when she wasn't somehow tangled up in his messes or even his love. He had been there, at first, an invading creature inside her chest but she'd opened herself to him. She welcomed the ideas he brought, the obsession, the possessiveness, and somehow, she liked it.

She wanted to be taken care of and there was only one person who would give that to her and still consider her an equal. They'd met their match.

She nodded, pressing her chest against his. "I love you."

He smiled, a laugh of his falling from his lips as he kissed her. He rocked her backwards as he leaned forward to capture her mouth with his. She clung to him with a soft squeal as she felt herself nearly roll right off him from how quickly he was surging forward.

She parted her lips and he bit down on her bottom lip, tugging it back with his own wolfish grin. He had her against a wall in a flash, his hands holding her up as his fingers dug into her thighs. He pressed himself against her and she felt him, hard, pushing into her and she whispered against his lips and his grip grew tighter as he got harder.

"I love you. I love you. I love–"

His mouth was on her neck, sucking and biting and her hands were lost in his hair.

"Sir..."

Klaus stilled against her neck, pressing his forehead into her skin as she felt herself grow warm from embarrassment. There was no doubt that her face was bright red when she opened her eyes and saw a pretty nurse standing in the doorway to the other room.

"What?" snapped Klaus, not even bothering to look at her. He kept himself against Colette, his lashes tickling her throat.

"We're almost finished with the blood donation and...and she's awake, sir."

He groaned and his hand hit the wall in frustration but he nodded slowly and grunted, "I'll be there in a moment."

He slowly lowered Colette to the ground, her feet planting solidly against the floor and he sighed again. He leaned back, holding her face in both hands before leaning down to kiss her gently.

"Wait for me," he murmured, "up stairs. I'll only be a moment, I swear it."

She nodded, still slightly breathless.

He pressed his forehead against hers and took a deep breath before kissing the tip of her nose and saying, "I love you."

She watched him walk away and only felt a little satisfaction as he adjusted his jeans before entering the next room. She brushed her hand back, tucking it behind her ears in an act to keep it from being too messy. Once she could breathe smoothly, she left the living room and headed for the staircase.

She took each stair slowly, hoping her would meet her at the top and whisk her away but she knew he had business to take care of. She trusted him not to kill Elena and she could smell his intentions, which were surprisingly pure. He'd been holding back some of his...destructive tendencies for the past few days and she could smell it on him.

The restraint. He was rethinking his motives, calculating ways not to kill or maim.

Entering his bedroom, she smiled softly to herself. She'd been in his bed just that morning but it still felt surreal for her to be in here. The great beasts's bedroom, the monster's beautiful bathroom, the hybrid's silken sheets.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and laid back. There were a lot of things for her to think about and for once, she didn't want to think about any. She just wanted to lay back and pray Klaus would be running up those stairs, perhaps three at a time, to get to her.

She didn't want to worry about the visions she's had of Damon sobbing, of a car sinking in water, of someone dying. She didn't even want to think of the flashing images of Rebekah searching for revenge or of Klaus lying dessacated in a coffin. Instead, she let her eyes close and her rapid heart slowly ease to its normal beat at the thought of his arms circling around her and pulling her deeper into this nest she didn't want to leave.

That was, of course, before she heard a chair fall and someone screaming.

She'd only gotten a second of peace before someone was trying to ruin it and by the sound of the scream, she guessed first it was Elena but then recognized it as the nurse who'd been helping. What was she witnessing that was so terrible?

Colette sprang up from the bed and left quickly, descending down the stairs at a normal human pace. She didn't need to go rushing in there when she didn't know what she was going to find but from the heavy scents in the air, she knew she was going to find multiple people all together at once.

She could recognize their scents like the back of her hand and she staggered into the doorway at the fresh scent of blood and the rapid beating of a heart on its way down to death.

"What are you doing?" she breathed, regarding the scene as her blood began to boil and her heart dropped deeply into her gut.

Stefan had his hands pressed into Klaus's chest as Tyler and Damon restrained the origianl. Elena was on the ground and Colette could see three blood bags piled neatly on the table by a knocked over chair. The nurse, who hadn't been the one to scream but instead had been Elena, was nowhere to be found.

She took a staggering step inside the room. "Let him go!" cried Colette as she began to hear the slowing beat of Klaus's heart as Stefan pressed further. She made a move to run forward but Damon had her around the waist, holding her back as she thrashed. "What are you doing?! What are you fucking doing to him?!"

Damon wrestled against her, his arms locked tightly around her middle. "Stopping his heart! We're stopping his heart, Colette, we have to!"

"He's not doing anything!" she shouted as Klaus's movements began to slow.

"He was going to kill Elena!"

"No," she snarled, "he wasn't! He wouldn't kill her–get off of me, Damon, let me go!" Klaus looked back at her and she could see the gray seeping into his skin. It wouldn't be long until he'd be completely gray, his veins protruding and thick with sluggish laziness that wouldn't be able to be undone.

"He was going to kill Elena, Colette," said Stefan, looking past Klaus to meet her crazed gaze. "He was going to kill her so Alaric would die."

She shook her head, trying to elbow Damon in the gut as her body burned and hummed with the urge to get to Klaus before the spell completed. "He wasn't going to kill her, you morons!" Elena stirred on the ground, weak from the blood loss. "If Elena dies, I die! He would never let me die!" She kicked at Damon and she felt tears spill down her cheeks because Klaus's neck was gray and it was working its way up his stubbled jaw.

"Colette, he has to go like this," snarled Damon. "He will never stop terrorizing this town, terrorizing us!"

"You mean Elena," she hissed, getting her elbow between his ribs and he grunted. "He won't stop hunting Elena."

Why can't I have one thing? Why can't I just be happy?

"We were going to leave," she was sobbing now, huge waves racking her body as the gray took over Klaus's mouth and then his nose. "We were going to leave and never bother you again and you–and you–" She sagged against Damon, feeling sweat build up on the back of her neck. "You ruined it!"

They were supposed to be gone from this place. They were supposed to be free.

But nothing ever goes your way, little girl, and it never will.

Power unleashed from her body, coating her in heat so strong she'd wondered where it'd been stored all this time. Damon flung back, slamming against the wall, as Stefan and Tyler were knocked aside. Her body was humming, her bones vibrating but she felt good. She felt alive.

Godling awoken. Godling provoked.

She tore open the vein in her wrist and dropped to her knees by Klaus's side. His eyes could still move and he looked at her so deeply she nearly tore right through her arm.

"It's okay," she whispered, smiling through her tears as she let her blood run down her arm. "It'll all be okay–"

"Stop her!" snarled Stefan and there were hands taking hold of her shoulder, rocking her backwards.

She fought back against Tyler and knocked him aside and she tore into her vein again so Klaus could drink freely but Elena was whispering to her, softly, weakly.

"Colette," the girl begged, "please."

Colette looked at Elena and her body shook. "Why do you get to be happy and I don't?" she whispered to the girl, feeling wet hot tears go sliding down her face. "Why do you get everything and I get nothing!"

She was slammed back against the ground and her blood smeared across the floor as she stopped her tumble. Damon stood in front of her, out of breath and chest heaving.

"Colette," he said with a frown, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," she snarled back, on her hands and knees. "If you even cared you wouldn't be doing this!"

Stefan stood slowly from his spot on the ground. "It has to be done."

"No, it doesn't." She launched her towards Damon and before she could reach him, Tyler and Stefan were taking hold of her arms, pulling her tightly on their side. She struggled against them but she was scared, would they do the same to her that they did to Klaus? "How is this even fair?!"

She didn't want to die. She didn't want to go.

"Please," she sobbed, shaking her head and flinching when Damon took another step towards her. "Don't do this, don't do this–" She choked on her sob, spluttering. "We did nothing wrong, we did–we did nothing!"

"I'm sorry," whispered Damon, a sad look spreading across his face and she flinched again when he touched her face. She tried to kick out at him but both his hands were now locked on either side of her face.

"Don't," she pleaded but it didn't matter.

He snapped her neck and there was nothing she could do about it.

It was over, anyway.

She woke up on the floor, facing a brick wall. She couldn't hear anything, which meant she was alone in the big house. Getting to her feet, she used the wall to help her. She wasn't weak from blood loss or even sickness, no, she was weak from heartache.

When she turned, she realized she was in the cellar of the boarding house and she scowled. They'd had enough time to lock her away? Really?

She stalked towards the door and before she could kick it open and break the locks, it opened. Creaking loudly as it slowly opened into the cell, Colette felt a sickening thought occur in her head as she watched Naya smile and hold up the keys, letting them jingle and rattle together.

We're coming to the very end.

AUTHOR'S NOTE━━we have two more chaps left in this fic!! i could cry....i love colette sm i really do. she's my baby and she's my angel and i love her. 

let me know what you all thought!!! im hoping the next chapter will b very long to help conclude a lot of things bc the next chap after that will be the epilogue. i could sob!!!!!!! this fic is so fun and i dont want to let her go yet :((

me sobbing over this fic:

vote/comment and pls dont b a ghost or else ill get really sad and so will colette and we dont want that !!!!!!!!